


Once

by Luckless_Salmon



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: (Sadly) one-sided Corriander, Angst, F/M, Leo is doing a big sad, Post-Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, Queen Camilla of Nohr, Xander and Elise went Kaput
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-30 22:09:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19412389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luckless_Salmon/pseuds/Luckless_Salmon
Summary: A thousand words can be shared in a single dance. Birthright Divergence.





	Once

“Princes- I mean Queen Corrin,” Crown Prince Leo greeted, stumbling over his words after a small nudge from Queen Camilla of Nohr. He had approached the grand dais at the head of the ballroom, where she sat with her husband, High King Ryoma, and the rest of her Hoshidan siblings. While the table had previously been filled with laughter and playful banter, the stoic young man’s presence had introduced a more solemn atmosphere. “Would you give me the honor of this dance?”

Corrin swallowed hard, feeling the eyes of hundreds of nobles fall to her, waiting for any scrap of gossip regarding the twisted relationship between the Hoshidan and Nohrian royal families.

“Love, you don’t have to agree to this,” Ryoma had whispered into her ear, his mane of wild dark hair tickling the sensitive skin. “This is a political move, nothing else.”

Corrin shook her head, waving off her doting husband. With a shaky smile to Hinoka, who seemed ready to pounce, the Hoshidan Queen rose from her seat. 

“It would be a great honor to accompany you for this number, Prince Leo.”

Heart thumping, Corrin descended the platform steps, graciously accepting the Nohrian’s extended arm and walking alongside him to the ballroom floor. With the potential fireworks averted, most of the nobles returned to their previous conversations; the exception was the Hoshidan royal family themselves, whose eyes remained fixed on the couple.

“Little brother,” Corrin muttered, stroking Leo’s arm with her fingers “it’s been too long. How have you been?”

“I-I do this strictly for appearance sake, do not take this as an invitation to socialize, Corrin,” Leo hissed under his breath, refusing to meet her gaze with his own. “Camilla may forgive, she may do what she must for the sake of Nohr, but me... I cannot. I will never forget what you’ve done to this family, nor will I forgive your transgressions. Xander and Elise meant... much more than you could ever know.”

Corrin dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand, dug until blood was trickling onto the ball floor. How fitting. “This had to be done Leo, there was no other option. Xander and Elise, they meant as much to me as they did you, despite what you may think-“

“I do not need to think anything Corrin, I know I loved them more than you did! I know,” Leo seethed, twirling her much more harshly that dictated by manners. Corrin’s eyes snapped to those of Ryoma, who was practically seething. “You may have been the favorite, Xander’s ‘little princess’ but clearly his affections were misguided. After all, what kind of loving little sister stabs their brother in the guts until he bleeds out? What kind of caring sister would step over the still-warm corpses of their siblings to murder their father? What sort of empathetic sister accepts the proposal of another man in the same hour as she murdered her kin in cold blood?!”

Corrin could feel the waves of burning hot rage practically rolling off Leo. In some sense he was correct, was she given the ability to go back in time, she would have altered several of her choices, taken back words... but there was no use mourning past mistakes. Garon was mad, Nohr was poisoned within... sacrifices had to be made. 

While debating whether it was worth it to attempt an explanation for her younger brother, Leo spoke again. “You know, he loved you. He would have done absolutely anything for you Corrin, and you basically spat it all back in his face. Xander took beating after beating for you as a child... in the end he practically served his heart to you on a platter and you... couldn’t even offer him enough respect to hold off on accepting a proposal until out of Krackenburg. A proposal from the enemy leader, no less.”

Corrin felt her tongue go dry, mouth gaping. “Leo, everything was moving so fast, I hadn’t even considered-“

“Yes, you never consider anything that doesn’t directly benefit you,” the younger man snapped, scowling. “You were spoiled as a child and you are perhaps even more spoiled now.”

Stepping back to offer the respectful bow typically offered following a dance in traditional Hoshidan culture, Leo finally made eye contact with his elder sister. His eyes were cold hazel, sharp as Xander’s had been, but far more bitter. There was none of the warmth that had resided there once.

Corrin felt a lump form in her throat. 

“I wish you a good day Queen Corrin,” Leo stated blandly, turning on his heels to depart.

“Leo, wait!” Corrin called, grasping the too-long sleeve of his suit-jacket (even now, her little brother struggled with his wardrobe). The younger man froze, stiffening as if she had infected him with a deadly virus, but saying nothing. 

“D-don’t forget...” she whimpered lowly, closing her eyes and bowing her head. “You too loved me once.”

Leo hummed blandly, eyes still fixed on the wall of the opposite side of the hall. “Perhaps I did, but no more.”

The young man sighed once more, finally staring at his sister for a long moment. In that fraction of a moment, it felt as if all his pain, all his stress, was being funneled into her own soul.  
“Not anymore Corrin. Please enjoy the the rest of your evening.” 

Although the chattering of the nobles continued, Corrin felt as if her entire world had gone quiet. Even hundreds of miles away from Nohr, the bleak night still managed to invade her thoughts.

**Author's Note:**

> Ryoma was the OG fates husband for me, although I didn't finish the game until I summoned Xander in FEH and thought his character seemed interesting. I could never finish Birthright because it hurt my soul too much, but here's a post-game drabble anyways.
> 
> Kudos and reviews are appreciated if you have the time; thanks for reading.


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